The Hindu                          18.03.2013

Water scarcity worries BBMP councillors

Staff Reporter 

With a crisis looming, several councillors raised
concern over water shortage, defunct borewells and plummeting
groundwater levels at the subject meeting of the Bruhat Bangalore
Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council here on Saturday.

Several
councillors accused the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board
(BWSSB) officials of non-cooperation and that they ignored their
complaints.

Commissioner Siddaiah said that the BBMP
council had resolved (during the previous meeting) to provide Rs. 30
lakh for newly added areas and Rs. 10 lakh for old wards to repair and
maintain the existing borewells, besides sinking new ones.

Park maintenance

The
former Deputy Mayor S. Harish said that the city’s parks were
ill-maintained. “Citizens have been complaining about plants withering
due to lack of water and maintenance. Some even went to the extent
saying that the BBMP could develop sites and distribute them,” he said
and added that the officials of the Horticulture and Projects
departments were blaming each other instead of maintaining the parks.

Mr.
Siddaiah said that the claim was exaggerated and pointed out that
landscaped parks that had lawns required a lot of water and maintenance.
“Instead of having landscaped parks, the BBMP can develop tree parks,
which require minimum maintenance,” he said.

Garbage

Councillors
of Yelahanka zone complained about garbage contractor B.V.G. India Ltd.
and stated that it had failed to have in place the requisite manpower
and equipment required as per the terms and conditions.

Opposition Leader M.K. Gunashekar said that in several wards, the pourakarmikas had not been paid in three months.

“However,
the contractors who employ them claim that only one month’s salary is
pending. The pourakarmikas are now refusing to clear garbage.”

Mr.
Siddaiah said that he had instructed the zonal commissioners to
penalise the contractors who had violated the terms. He also said the
BBMP had cleared all bills till February.

Resolutions

The BBMP council resolved to urge the government to allocate 10 acres in all eight zones in the city for burial grounds.

It
resolved to entrust works taken up under government funding, Mayor and
Deputy Mayor’s funds and those earmarked for the Standing Committee for
Taxation and Finance, to Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd.

It sought renaming the airport after Kempe Gowda and to install an 18-foot equestrian statue of his.